Interface-Driven Thermo-Electric Switching Performance of VO\(^+\) Diffused Soda-Lime Glass

Strongly confined NaVO\(^+\) segregation and its thermo-responsive functionality at the interface between simple sputter-deposited amorphous vanadium oxide thin films and soda-lime glass was substantiated in the present study by in-situ temperature-controlled Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The obtained ToF-SIMS depth profiles provided unambiguous evidence for a reversible transformation that caused systematic switching of the NaVO\(^+\)/ Na\(^+\) and Na\(^+\)/ VO\(^+\) intensities upon cycling the temperature between 25 \(^\circ\)C and 340 \(^\circ\)C. Subsequently, NaVO complexes were found to be reversibly formed (at 300 \(^\circ\)C) in vanadium oxide diffused glass, leading to thermo-responsive electrical behaviour of the thin film glass system. This new segregation -- and diffusion-dependent multifunctionality of NaVO\(^+\) -- points towards applications as an advanced material for thermo-optical switches, in smart windows or in thermal sensors.